


Polaris-bound

by IspeltEclipsewrong



Category: Half Life VR But The AI Is Self Aware
Genre: AUception, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Animal Death, Benry eats a pigeon but it's justified, Black Mesa Sweet Voice, Child Abuse, Child Neglect, Childhood Friends, Childhood Trauma, Emetophobia, Gen, HLVRAI, Half-Life VR But the AI is Self-Aware, Mutilation, Nonbinary Benrey (Half-Life), Shapeshifting, They're kids here, They/Them Pronouns for Benrey (Half-Life), it's just a toy ship tho, now with art!, tag wranglers please split these fandom tags, this is an au of an au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:40:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26526865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IspeltEclipsewrong/pseuds/IspeltEclipsewrong
Summary: Gordon remembers something when the scientists bring in new enrichment for the test subjects.Benry wouldn't leave here without him. He won't leave without Benry. Shit, let's escape from Black Mesa together.(inspired by holdyourbreathfornow's Family of Three AU. Please check out their work! This might not make sense without it.)
Relationships: Benrey & Gordon Freeman, Benrey/Gordon Freeman
Comments: 68
Kudos: 245





	1. Cover Art

**Author's Note:**

  * For [holdyourbreathfornow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/holdyourbreathfornow/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Unions and Reunions](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26392753) by [holdyourbreathfornow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/holdyourbreathfornow/pseuds/holdyourbreathfornow). 



> holdyourbreathfornow's AU where Gordon Freeman's actually Joshua Coomer, Dr. Coomer and Dr. Bubby's test tube baby, literally ripped my heart from my body. 
> 
> Basically, this is how I envision what Benry and Gordon escaping Black Mesa as kids would be like. It made me WAY too sad to see Gordon only reunite with Coomer and Bubby as an adult. I'm giving my science grandpas their child back and also an additional child that will one day be their child-in-law and NO ONE CAN STOP ME. 
> 
> I wrote this in a single night because I have no self-control and I was enabled.
> 
> Some of the Sweet Voices are original, but others are from here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1v57va3UNvB7X3FH7wtVyY_FOn3UCcesTgCD8efTRGuA/edit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RIP if I got your hopes up for another chapter, but have some art I slaved over instead!


	2. Polaris

There’s nothing for them to talk about. 

This isn’t an uncommon occurrence at Black Mesa. Gordon and Benry saw the same rooms every day, ate the same food, talked to the same people. Mostly just each other. They talked through the vent separating their rooms at night until there was nothing left but companionable silence for the daytime. It was safest that way- using voices so low that the scientists couldn’t hear them through the microphones.

Usually, nothing new happens to the test subjects but The Tests. 

Neither one of them wanted to talk about The Tests.

Especially not Benry, not today, when their test went so wrong. They glared sullenly at the far wall of the recreation room. If they could, their yellow eyes would have burned a hole through that wall and into the hallway. Like a laser. Maybe they could even hit a scientist or security guard with it. The thought wasn’t enough to make them smile but it was something.

Gordon and Benry sat side by side, pressed shoulder to hip, with Benry’s hand held in both of Gordon’s. Gordon pressed lightly on each of Benry’s paw pads in turn, making their claws extend, in a soothing, repetitive pattern. The human liked his friend’s shapeshifted cat paws the best. He didn’t ask about the bandage wrapped around Benry’s forearm or the bruise blooming on their cheek. That was a nighttime talk. 

There was supposed to be something new later. As evil as Black Mesa was, they didn’t do anything against their own best interests. There was nothing to be gained from completely broken test subjects, after all, and kids had certain needs. It’s why they didn’t keep Gordon and Benry from showing affection to each other- it saved them the trouble of having a staff member hold them for a few minutes everyday like they did with the _really_ anti-social kids. Not that Gordon and Benry would ever hug where the cameras could see them. That would be just asking for the scientists to threaten their friend to make them comply.

Another human need, entertainment, would be provided for today. They were changing out the books in the children’s library and providing one new educational toy. As sad as it was, Gordon felt a vague buzz of excitement in his chest. He and Benry would be the first to play with the new toy! They were the only ones in their wing and it was still their wing’s recreation time. Maybe that would cheer Benry up. Gordon almost wanted to talk about it but felt sure he would jinx something important if he did. 

Benry kept their ears perked for the door. They knew they were on camera but the idea of holding Gordon’s hand with a scientist in the room made their hackles raise, no matter how much of a comfort it would be. They went slightly amorphous at the distant sound of footsteps and scooted away from Gordon. The boy sat up straight as Benry took on their best mimicry of a human. The staff treated them slightly better without the teeth and claws, although Benry could do nothing for their eyes. 

The two of them assumed the position- that of obedient statues, who glued their eyes to the tabletop, and kept both hands in view at all times. 

Two scientists walked in, chatting between themselves, and a security guard stood in the open doorway. One of them held a cardboard box full of books. Gordon’s fingers twitched as his eyes tracked them across the room. He wondered if they had any comics. The two old men knelt before the low bookshelf and started to exchange the old books into the box and the new books onto the shelf. Every child in the facility had already memorised the current selection.

Neither Benry nor Gordon talked, or moved, or even breathed as one of the scientists walked towards the table. He approached them carefully before setting down an odd black globe in the center of the table. Benry’s eyes flickered up to it in interest and then hurriedly back down. The scientist flicked a switch.

And nothing happened. 

They sat in silence for a moment before Gordon, who hadn’t had his bravery punished that morning, cleared his throat respectfully. 

“Excuse me… What does it do?” he asked. That’s when the guard reached over to the lightswitch and plunged them into darkness.

Gordon yelped and Benry cringed into themself, claws reappearing to dig into the tabletop, before they noticed it wasn’t dark at all. The black globe glowed and the walls were awash with millions of tiny pinpricks of light. 

The panic turned to amazement as the kids craned their necks to look all around the room. The scientist laughed softly at their reaction, a sound that was almost kind, despite him just scaring the hell out of a couple of test subjects. Any bitterness they felt was momentarily eclipsed by awe.

“This…” Gordon said, recognition dawning, “It’s the sky! It’s the night sky!”

Benry looked over to him, cat-pupils massive in the dim-light, with an expression of bewilderment. They’d never seen the night sky. They’d been a baby when they were- found? Captured? Or were they born here? They didn’t know, but they’d heard good things about the sky occasionally.

“It’s an accurate star map,” the scientist said, “you can see all the constellations you’d see on the surface. It runs on batteries, so remember to turn it off when you’re done.”

Benry nodded mutely. Gordon thanked him in a voice that was barely above a murmur.

The three adults left and the two of them stayed still for one second, two, three… And leaped to their feet. Benry’s eyes were wider than Gordon had ever seen them as they lifted a hand to see the stars projected onto their own skin. “Stars?” he asked.

“They’re like the sun, but really far away.”

Benry gave him a Look. Gordon blushed and smiled sheepishly back. Benry had never seen the sun either. Gordon decided to explain a bit more.

“It’s like… a big round fire. In space. The sun keeps the planet warm and gives us light.”

“Where is it?” None of the stars seemed all that bigger from the other ones. 

“It isn’t here,” Gordon said, tracing the stars on the wall with his fingers, “It goes away at night.”

“Where does it go? Is it sleeping?”

“The sun doesn’t sleep, it goes to warm the other side of the planet,” Gordon explains, “It’s always somewhere in the sky even if we can’t see it.”

Benry went quiet for a moment. They liked fire. They could set things on fire with their mind, if they didn’t mind getting in trouble. They wished they could see the sun. “Are the stars warm?”

“No, they’re too far away, but they’re pretty, aren’t they?” Gordon said, smiling a bit.

Admitting they liked something seemed too dangerous. If you liked something, it could be taken away from you. Benry shifted on their feet and shrugged. “It’s alright, a little boring. You can’t touch the stars or nothin’.”

“It’s not boring! I used to watch the stars all the time, with my- with my-” Gordon’s mind ran against a wall and he flinched. Ow. “I used to watch the stars all the time. I know lots of constellations.” 

“What are constellations?” Benry asked, sitting on the floor with a thump. They tried to play it cool, but they could tell when Gordon was about to tell them a story. They loved stories. A few Sweet Voice notes spilled from their lips- _lime to rust, I’m curious._

“They’re pictures people put into the stars. They tell stories about history and stuff… But cool history! Heroes and monsters and big battles!”

Benry’s tail swished back and forth and they pulled his knees up to their chest. “...Tell me a constellation story?”

Gordon grinned and did just that. 

He named star after star after star- assigning long latin titles to tiny white dots. They hardly seemed to deserve them, but the words sounded pretty and felt important on Benry’s tongue when they repeated them. Andromeda. Pegasus. Aries. Tauros. Gemini.

Gordon was almost bouncing off the walls, a smile stretched wide across his face, as he called on knowledge he didn’t know he had. It was like pulling something dusty off a shelf and suddenly remembering everything about it. He didn’t remember where he learned it, but he remembered the stars.

The hole in his memory was telling in itself. His parents must have taught him. Was his dad a star scientist? Was it night right now? Were they seeing the same stars? Telling the same story?

Gordon told Benry about horoscopes, but Benry didn’t know when they were born. There were no birthdays in Black Mesa. Gordon was a pisces. 

“That’s Orion!” he said excitedly, tracing the three stars across the middle of the constellation, “You see his belt? And these are his shoulders, and arms… He was a hunter. The best hunter ever! He was friends with a Goddess.”

“A Goddess?”

“A Goddess named Artemis.”

“Are-tee-muss.” 

“Goddess of the Hunt. That means she’s in charge of hunting. She’s also in charge of the moon and stuff.”

“The moon…” That was another thing Benry’d never seen. He was about to ask about it when Gordon continued the story. 

“She was so sad when he died that she put him into the night sky. Over there-” he pointed across the room, “-Is scorpio. It’s the huge monster scorpion that killed him. She put it all the way on the other side, so that he’d never be in danger again.”

“Never in danger again…” That sounded nice. They wished they were on the other side of the sky from Black Mesa. They wished Gordon was there too. 

“That’s Ursa Major and Minor,” Gordon said, pointing them out, “they’re a papa and baby bear. You can use them to find the North Star.”

“What’s the North Star?”

Gordon grinned. “It’s Polaris! It’s the most important star, because you can use it for na..vi..ga..tion…”

The smile slipped off Gordon’s face. Something in his brain was scratching- he was remembering something but it refused to take proper shape. He opened his mouth and closed it again. An echoey voice came to him, but he couldn’t make out the words.

Benry stood up to help him, laying hands on his shoulders, when suddenly the door opened and lights turned on. They leaped away from each other. 

“Recreation time is over. It’s time for your afternoon tests.”

The children obediently followed the security guard out of the room. Gordon only held them up for a second to turn off the stars.


	3. Pegasus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gordon and Benry make some plans. The execution needs work.

That night they lay together in Gordon’s bed. The two children were face to face, sharing a pillow, hidden under a blanket, with only Gordon’s feet poking out at the bottom to let in air. He wasn’t scared of monsters biting his toes off anymore. He had Benry now and all the monsters he knew only wanted to run tests.

Benry’s pillow had been left behind to fill out their own blankets and pretend they were sleeping where they were supposed to. Not that they could take it with them through the vent. It wouldn’t fool anyone, with the HD cameras in the cells, but it made them feel better. The guards hadn’t stopped them yet anyway. Either they didn’t care or didn’t watch the feeds too closely. 

The two of them whispered back and forth. They recounted that day’s events- the recreation room, not the tests- to each other, as if they both hadn't been there. It was something new to run into the ground. Gordon listed off the star's names again under his breath. He told Benry they could make up their own constellations- make up their own stories- and the thought filled Benry’s heart with warmth. A new game. One that wouldn’t get them yelled at like playing tag in the labs, hopefully.

Still, they found themself interrupting.

“What were you gonna say? About Polaris. You said it did something special.” 

“O-Oh, yeah…” Gordon said, closing his eyes briefly. There was the scratching again. “It… It helps you navigate, because it’s right in the north, like a compass.”

“Navigate? Compass? What's that?”

“‘Navigate’ means you find your way. A compass is a little round thing that points north, always. The sailors would use polaris to find their way home.”

“Home…” Benry murmured and something in them ached. They had no home. They’d always lived at Black Mesa and Black Mesa wasn’t home. They’d heard other kids crying out to go home and talking about how much they missed home. If Benry was taken from Black Mesa, they’d never look back. They took a breath and sniffled.

“Do you miss it?” Gordon asked, voice becoming even more hushed.

“Can’t miss what you never had,” Benry said, shrugging their shoulders. They looked away when their eyes got misty.

“Oh… Can I ask you something?” 

“Go for it.”

“Why don’t you leave?” Gordon said, squeezing Benry’s hands. He looked around nervously although he couldn’t see anything but Benry’s glowing eyes. “You can turn into mist. You can go into the vents and fly to the surface.”

“...Where would I go? No one up there would like me either. I’m a… I’m a monster-”

“Benry-”

“A _ freak _ . I’d starve to death. Or be put into a circus. Or another lab. Or hunted. Or killed-”

“ _ Benry, no _ -”

“No one wants me at all! I don’t have a home! Everyone says so, everyone but you hates me-”

Benry’s whispered shouts were cut off with a sob and a low note: a single wavering sweet voice bubble left their lips. It was barely formed- they’d made them sing for hours today. 

_ The world’s saddest shade of blue- I’d never leave this place without you. _

__ Gordon hugged them tightly. “Benry, that’s not true… You’re not a freak, you’re- you’re cool! You’re so cool and you’re my best friend. If no one’s expecting you, then you can just go anywhere you want.”

Benry cried for a while longer while Gordon pet their back slowly. The human hushed them until they started to calm down, assuring them that they were wanted. They sniffled and pulled back when a new question burned into their mind.

“Where would you go?”

“Home, I guess. If I could find it. I think… I think my parents taught me about stars. I could use the stars to find them again. It’s like a clue.” 

“Home… That sounds nice. You deserve to go home.”

“But not without you,” Gordon said, petting Benry’s fluffy black hair. Benry closed their eyes. That felt nice: the affection and that Gordon wouldn’t leave them behind either.  “...You know. You could- we could- go together?”

Benry’s eyes shot open and his pupils contracted. Escape? The two of them? No one had ever escaped Black Mesa. Gordon stammered- he hadn’t meant to say that, but when he tried to take the words back he continued instead.

“If we can find a way to get me into the vents, we can both leave. W-We could climb all the way to the top. They wouldn’t be able to climb in after us and you’re so fast, if you carried me through the difficult bits, they couldn’t gas us!”

Gordon slapped a hand over his own mouth, like he was expecting a security guard to burst in right that second. Benry watched him with wide, shocked eyes. Slowly, a shark-toothed smile stretched across their face. 

“Gordon Freeman. Gordon gonna,  _ gonna _ get-us-free, man! The man with the plan! Yeah! Let’s bust outta here. Yeah, yeah!”

Gordon smiled back and giggled. “S-so, you wanna-?”

“Of course! Let’s go home, freeing-us-man.”

Gordon’s mind whirred. If they were going to get out of here, they had to be careful. They couldn’t think like kids, they had to think like scientists. 

“We’ll have to be good, but not too good. If we don’t do anything wrong they’ll know we’re up to something, but if we get our privileges taken away… It would be harder to plan and get free. So, get in trouble, but… only a little bit?”

Benry saluted him under the covers, still grinning wildly.

“And… we’ll need supplies. Like, food and stuff, so we don’t starve in the desert. We’ll have to hide it. We’ll have to find a place without any cameras or microphones to practice what we’re going to do.”

Benry thought for a second. “How about the showers? There’s no camera in there and the water’s loud.”

That could work… They were the only two kids in their wing, so it was only them in there. The only problem was that there was always a scientist or guard in the room with them. Gordon said as much to Benry.

“I’ll set a distraction,” Benry said, “Nuh, nothing ol’ Benry can’t handle. A little delayed distraction. A little whoopsies to distract the grown ups.

Gordon grinned. This could work. It was hope he clutched onto with both hands. He thought of something. “B-Benry, switch sides with me.”

“Huh? Alright.” 

There was some shifting as Benry rolled over Gordon like a speedbump, not willing to be seen on the cameras as more than mist. They were on the side of the vent now.

“You see that screw?” Gordon asked. There were several screws with slotted heads- just the one indent. “If you make your fingernails long, can you stick them in there?”

“I’ll try,” Benry said, focusing on the tips of their fingers and growing long claws. They tried to push them into the screws only to find the slot was too small. They made them thinner and thinner, but by the time they could make the fit their nail was too weak. It would bend when they turned their hand instead of rotating the screw. They kept trying until Gordon pulled their hand back in fear they’d break their nail or rip it out and hurt themself. They didn’t have the dexterity to make something so thin and so strong at the same time. 

“I could just break it?” Benry whispered.

“No, they’d hear us. We need a big headstart to make this work… we’ll need some kind of tool.” 

Benry nodded. They were a little put out that they couldn’t help here, but Gordon was counting on them to get through the vents once they got in. 

“We’ll start looking tomorrow,” Gordon said, “we should sleep now.” 

Benry nodded and faded back into mist, returning to their own cell. Gordon turned onto his back and shut his eyes. Around him was only darkness, but in his mind he could see the stars. 

* * *

To pull this off, they had to be more careful than they’d ever been. They had to move slowly. They had to think through the consequences of their actions- something that didn’t come naturally to kids under ten. Not even genetically modified scientist babies or eldritch horror kids. Gordon was worried that Benry would get bored, or irritated, and call it quits. He wanted to leave. Now that he had that hope, he couldn’t extinguish that white-hot want that had made a home in his ribs, but he couldn’t go without Benry either.

Surprisingly, Benry played along in earnest. They’d still joke and needle Gordon, but they asked questions and listened to instructions too. Benry would run their plans for mischief by Gordon before putting them into action- making sure to be neither too good nor too bad. It made Gordon happy, he’d been worried that their late night talk of freedom had been just that; a talk. 

When Gordon told them to distract the guards by getting into trouble, they took their beatings without complaint. Gordon spent all night apologizing, after they got the can of soda or sandwich that Benry had suffered for them to steal, but Benry promised it was okay. Gordon offered to take on the punishments, but Benry said they could tolerate more violence. They weren’t human and, in the end, it would be worth it. 

Gordon hoped so. He was terrified of making a mistake and getting them both killed. It had to be worth it- they had to get out. Once they did, they could get help. They could save the other kids, but right now all that mattered was the two of them. He wouldn’t let Benry’s sacrifices be for nothing. 

They practiced the forms that Benry would take to escape in the shower. Not every day- the staff would notice if this particular wing’s guard was called away every day. Not even every week and never on the same day twice. The situation was always something innocent like a smoke-filled staff room or chemical spill or a few loose specimens. 

Benry practiced turning into smoke, creating extra arms, frog legs, claws. They decided that the best way for Benry to carry Gordon through the vents would be to turn partial into mist and let the human phase through them, so they could use all their limbs for attacking or climbing. That was one problem solved.

Once they got out of the facility, there would be miles and miles of desert. They had no car and they wouldn’t be able to run fast enough- their footprints would lead Black Mesa right to them on the ground anyway. Benry had the thought of tunneling through the earth, but Gordon needed air and they needed to navigate. They couldn’t go across it, or around it, or under it…

“Can you fly?” Gordon asked. Benry tried to form wings- little black stubby things that looked like the painting of a cherub in one of the old art books. It was more the idea of wings than the real thing. Benry could fly just fine on them.

However, when he tried to pick up Gordon and do it, their wings flapped uselessly. It would have probably been more productive for them to flap their arms. Benry’s feet slipped on the wet shower tile and they both went tumbling to the floor. Benry hissed and Gordon muffled a yelp against their shoulder. Benry could fly with just the thought of flight, of wings, but if they were carrying Gordon… 

“I think, uh, flying’s out,” Benry said as they washed their hair under the spray. Their guard would be back soon, so it was too dangerous to continue running form tests.

“No, wait,” Gordon said, “What if you build better wings? Wings that looked more like real ones.”

“I don’t know how. I’ve never seen birds up close. I only know how to do snakes and cats because the scientists brought them down for me. There’s no bird books in the children’s library this cycle either.”

Gordon thought. An idea came into his head and he hated it immediately. It was one thing to hurt themselves, when they knew what they were gaining, but to hurt something else…

Maybe this is what Black Mesa meant when they said ‘the greater good’. 

“There’s a pigeon nest in the vents somewhere by one of the loading bays.”

“This far down?”

“Yeah, I heard the scientists complaining about it. If you catch one and sneak it in, we can study its wings.”

“How are we going to sneak a live pigeon in here, bossman?”

“...I never said it had to be alive.”

The next situation their guard had to handle, two weeks later, was a nest of pigeons attacking the security staff and scientists in one of the loading bays. Something had really ticked them off. 

Benry hunched over on the shower floor and coughed up the severed wing of a bird, feathers and all.

Gordon only scrunched up his nose a little bit as he washed it off. They studied it together- tracing the feathers and carefully parting them to see the skin, squeezing just enough to feel the bones inside. Gordon counted the layers of feathers in his head and noted the difference in the tiers.

Benry’s training moved on to perfecting their wings. Gordon would stretch out their reference and then Benry’s, making sure they matched. He’d run his fingers through the feathers again and again, making sure every layer was accounted for. They didn’t know which ones were the most important. 

Benry wasn’t used to holding such complex shapes. It didn’t help that, in their initial trials, they couldn’t get their wingspan big enough to lift the both of them. When they finally managed, the wings took up all of the extra room in the showers and they were pale and tired. 

They’d stored as much supplies as they dared. Benry could carry both it and Gordon- not with ease, but with enough confidence that they wouldn’t have to jettison anything. They’d talked through every possibility they could come up with- what if someone found their stash, or one of them got hurt, or they were recaptured?

They wouldn’t go back, no matter what. It would be better to starve in the desert. This was it. This was their Hail Mary.

All they needed was a tool for the screws. 

This opportunity showed itself while they were in transit. There was one guard escorting the two of them, bringing up the rear, a heavy rifle on his back. Benry needed a bit more firepower to intimidate, not that they’d aim at them. It would be easier to threaten Gordon.

They stopped at a three-way intersection in the halls. Their guard had spotted one of his friends and had paused for a bit of gossip and to exchange a pack of cigarette- contraband, even for staff members. In the hallway to their left, an unattended tool box. Maintenance had been fixing the lights. It was their best chance.

All the same, Gordon made an aborted movement to stop Benry from leaving his side. His heart screamed while his friend slid over one pace, two paces… The guards were right there. Laughing, chatting, with life or death strapped in their holsters. 

Benry’s bare feet made a soft sound on the floor, a somewhat sticky sound. Their yellow eyes were wide and black hair wild. It was now or never- when would they find an entire tool box again? Gordon shut his eyes, unable to watch. He couldn’t even be Benrey’s look out. They were both in sight and there’d be no time to warn them.

Benry unlatched the red tool box and eased it open. They didn’t look back. If they hesitated-

They slipped their hand into the box, fingers curling around a smooth handle. 

“HEY!”

An adult hand crushed their wrist in its grip, wrenching them away from the box. They lost their footing as their hand was pulled over their head. For one terrible second Benry was hanging all their weight on their shoulder until they could kick their feet under them again.They looked up into the furious face of the maintenance man who’d been in one of the rooms. A slotted screwdriver was still clutched in Benry's hand.

The man shook Benry and the guards shouted, pushing Gordon aside to see what the problem was with their more dangerous charge. One of them pulled out a pistol.

“What do you think you’re doing, you little monster?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm leaving you on a cliffhanger because I haven't written the end yet. I wanna sleeeeeeeep.
> 
> Nice comments fuel the writing machine!


	4. Scorpio

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's do or die. This chapter picks up directly where the last chapter left off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YMMV Graphic Depictions of Violence tag for this chapter. It doesn't hit my threshold for needing that tag, since I just plainly state what happens without going into too much detail, but it may trigger you. Proceed with caution. 
> 
> Harm to children, gore, anxiety attacks, vomiting, and death. Mention of animal abuse? Oh, also non-violent body horror/game glitchy stuff. 
> 
> Also some religious imagery? But it's used to describe the night sky in the middle of the desert so I think it's warranted, especially because Benry's never seen it before. I'm not actually religious.

“Raiding your lunchbox, my man,” Benry said, smacking their lips. They tried to wriggle free of the firm grip. It was no use. They held their same impassive attitude about getting into trouble they’d always had, but inside their heart was racing. They’d been caught. Was this the end? The only thing to do was keep the attention on him and somehow get out alive.

“What? Do you expect us to believe that?!” one of the guards asked incredulously, leveling the gun at Benry’s head. Gordon’s breath hitched as he locked eyes with his friend. 

“I smelt your sandwich in there. Tuna, right?” Benry said to the maintenance man. They felt sweat trickle down their back and Sweet Voice bubbling up, but they clenched their teeth around it. They refused to show guilt and make this worse. 

“I’m talking to you!” The guard snapped, reaching out to grab Benry’s other arm. Benry flinched, but the action made the guard aim his gun away, so Gordon was almost glad for it. 

“Yeah, man? Sir? What’s up?” Benry let go of the screwdriver with the intention of kicking it over to Gordon while the attention was on themself. Unfortunately, the maintenance man caught it out of the air and set it back on the toolbox.

“You have some nerve, you thieving little shit,” the guard said, wagging his finger in Benry’s face. Benry snapped at it like a snark. The guard pulled it back quickly, then growled in annoyance. He turned to his friend.

“Take the other one to his test. We’re supposed to make sure _this one_ remembers its manners.”

The other guard nodded and took Gordon by the arm, starting to frog-march him down the hall. “W-wait!” Gordon shouted, trying to wriggle around to see what they were doing to Benry, “What are they going to do to them?!”

“It doesn’t concern you, “ the guard said, pushing Gordon forward a few more paces, “but if you’re bad, we’ll make it worse for them. So stop wriggling.” 

Gordon flinched, but took a deep breath and did as he was told. He kept his eyes forward and continued walking. The guard didn’t mention him shaking like a leaf. Neither of them said something about the meaty-sounding whacks and hissing coming from behind them. 

Gordon didn’t see Benry for the rest of the day. Not in the test waiting room, not in the cafeteria, and not in the recreation room. Whenever he tried to ask one of the staff, something he knew he shouldn't but was compelled to, they’d brush him off. 

The only consolation Gordon had was that, if Benry was dead, they’d waste no time in telling him. ‘This is what happens when you steal, so you better be good’. They were exactly those types of people.

It was too small a comfort. Just because Benry was alive didn’t mean they weren’t in pain. 

Gordon barely spoke unless spoken to for the rest of the day. He was extra good- like if he was a perfect test subject, they’d give Benry back to him. He didn’t even cry when he got his shots. He ate the mush they served for lunch and dinner without complaint. He went to bed on time.

Gordon has started to fear the worst. It was already late at night and Benry wasn’t back yet. Were they keeping them in solitary overnight? Were they moving them to a different wing? 

What if they’d broken them, and Benry had told? 

Gordon kicked himself for that last thought. It was stupid and selfish. Benry would never give him up to get out of a punishment. Benry would never betray him- they were best friends.

Gordon heard a scramble of footsteps down the hall. He held his breath in anticipation before deciding it was better to pretend to be asleep. He lay down quickly and threw the blanket over his head. The door to Benry’s cell opened with a screech and something heavy was thrown to the floor with a pained moan. Gordon’s heart swelled when he recognised the voice- Benry. Benry was still alive and they weren’t being taken away. 

His heart broke again when the sound was followed by a soft sob, but every little victory was a victory.

“Get some rest. You have double tests tomorrow.” The steel door slammed shut. Both children were silent as the footsteps receded. 

“...Benry?” Gordon murmured through the vent.

“Yuh… Yeah,” the other murmured, their voice oddly wet. There was a sound of shuffling, “I’ll b-be right there, move over.” 

Gordon did as he was told. He sat up and scooted over so that Benry would have room to manifest. Thick black smoke moved sluggishly from one cell to the other- there was the thick scent of iron even if this form didn’t have any visible injuries. It took Benry longer than usual to change shape. Every moment of coalescence was a strain. A few desaturated rainbow bubbles escaped in the effort. _Pain, bro._

Benry immediately flopped forward onto Gordon’s chest when they solidified fully. They whimpered and bumped the top of their head to Gordon's chin. Benry, who was usually so strong, was still just a child. Gordon gingerly wrapped his arms around them and stroked his fingers through Benry’s sweat-matted hair. Benry clutched the front of Gordon’s uniform. Gordon said nothing as Benry started to cry. The shoulder of Gordon's shirt was wet through in minutes.

Gordon waited until Benry’s deep, gasping sobs faded into tiny sniffles and whines. He leaned back slowly to inspect the damage they’d left on Benry. His friend’s face was a mass of bruises that continued down their shoulders and presumably down their back. Their cheeks were both swollen, but their eyes had been spared any shiners. There weren’t any gashes, so where was the iron smell coming from?

Gordon took one of Benry’s hands in his own and the alien flinched. Gordon startled at the sudden movement and looked down. Benry whimpered again- all his nails were caked in blood. The keratin only reached halfway up the nail bed. They’d declawed them like an animal. Gordon wanted to wail.

“We s-should stop,” Gordon said, tears coming to his own eyes, “It’s t-too dangerous. You’re just going to keep getting hurt because of me. This is all my fault-”

Benry shook their head immediately, vehemently, and wiped away their tears with force. Their yellow eyes narrowed in new determination. They smiled and Gordon sobbed, reaching up to cup Benry’s cheeks in his hands, as he saw the four bloody gaps in Benry’s mouth. They’d defanged them too. Benry looked undeterred. 

He didn’t have a chance to start apologising again before Benry held up a quarter. It had been squashed flat with something- just thin enough to fit in a slotted screw head. Benry grinned again- teeth already growing back. You can't keep a good alien down.

“Nuh-No way, freedom-man. I got the goods. We have to leave _tonight_.” 

“W-what? Where did you get that?”

“I stole it off one of the guards. They had a vice grip in their little- their little den of horrors. I squished it when the adults were on lunch break.”

Smart. Benry was always so smart. Gordon smiled at their friend and pulled them into another hug. He never should have doubted them. Benry laughed and sang a few notes- purple like a spring evening. They were okay. They’d be okay. Gordon paused as he parsed what Benry had just said and pulled away again.

“We can’t go tonight! You’re hurt!”

“I’ll huh-heal, freedom-man.”

“I...I can’t. You can’t fly. If we go now, we won’t make it, you’ll-”

“Gordon,” Benry said seriously. Gordon startled. Benry hardly ever called him by his real name.

“Yeah?”

“I wanna see the stars. For real. I wanna see the sun.”

Gordon and Benry stared at each other, green on yellow. How could he deny Benry anything after all they’ve been through? “A-Alright. Let’s go home.”

Gordon did manage to make Benry lay down for a few minutes before they left. He pet their hair softly while Benry regenerated their teeth and nails at the very least. The less their body had to worry about its injuries, the faster they could transform. 

When Benry sat up and refused to lay down again, Gordon took his blanket and used it to wrap all their supplies in a tight bundle. He shoved it up his shirt and prayed that he wouldn’t drop anything- every snack cake was one more snack cake away from death. Benry might be able to hunt once they got to the surface but neither knew what flora or fauna was safe to eat. Benry climbed up the wall and onto the ceiling- up to the hatch that led to the main ventilation system. They carefully unscrewed the door.

“Ready, Gordie?”

“As I’ll ever be.” 

Benry hopped back down to the floor and hugged Gordon tightly. Gordon hugged back and tried to breathe easily as he felt Benry no-clip through him. It was an even weirder sensation when Benry solidified around him again. He kept his eyes closed, he hoped he could pretend they were still just hugging even when Benry dropped their arms from around him.

Benry leaped back up into the vent, pulled the door shut behind them, and loosely re-screwed it in place. It was hard to do from this side of the vent, but it would obscure how they got out- even if only for a minute. They’d keep the lucky quarter and try to silently get through as many vents as they could… until the alarms went off. Once their cover was blown, it was smashing time. 

Benry began their precarious ascent. They had no map. No idea where to go besides Up. Benry could tell by smell, at least, where the heaters and air-conditioning were so that they wouldn’t get trapped anywhere Gordon couldn’t breathe. Benry’s new fingernails scrambled along the metal walls. Every dull thud of finding their footing made Gordon cringe and curl in tighter. He prayed that most of the scientists had gone home already. If they were lucky, their rooms wouldn’t be checked until morning. 

They paused every time they heard one of the adults talking. If the guards were chatting and laughing they probably hadn’t been discovered yet. They waited for the adults to wander away before continuing upwards.

They had miles and miles of vents to get through. Even when Benry, feeling more confident, started to speed up it would still take hours. Days. What if they got too tired to carry Gordon? What if they stopped to rest and were caught? Gordon’s heart pounded a wardrum of worry.

“Calm down,” Benry told him, pausing to pat Gordon’s head, “we’re almost there.” 

Gordon tried to obey, but it was difficult. His breath grew faster and more shallow. Benry cursed inwardly- the more Gordon’s hands sweat the less grip the alien had. The more Gordon’s heart raced, the more Benry’s heart sped up to match it. His hyperventilating was making them both run out of air. They had to calm the human down. 

They found a horizontal bit of vent that they could both lie down on. Benry reached up with a shaking hand to cup Gordon’s face. “H-Hey, man, calm down. You’re freaking me out, alright? Just, uh, breathe. Breathe with me.” 

Gordon grabbed onto Benry’s hands tightly. He was shaking. “I- I can’t. We’re too close to the air-conditioning- the chemicals- I can’t breathe-”

“We’re nowhere near the air-conditioning, Gordon. Can you breathe with me?”

“N-No, I can’t- We’re going to die in here, aren’t we?”

“In-” Benry ordered, and repeated it until Gordon took in a shaky breath, “Good. Out. We’re fine, Gordie. In again. And out.” 

Benry and Gordon lay quietly in the dark and tried to relearn how to breathe. Gordon eventually stopped freaking out- at least, stopped freaking out enough for them to continue on. They moved in silence for a bit longer.

“I’m sorry I’m such dead weight.”

“Suh-shut up, man. This is your plan. I was never gonna leave on my own until I met you.”

Gordon smiled a bit. Maybe this would all work out for once. Benry and him, they could make a home somewhere. Somewhere safe.

The alarm let out an enraged scream like a storm ripping through power lines. They’d finally been missed. 

Gordon’s heart rate spiked immediately. “Benry-!”

“I hear it!” they shouted and started to scramble. Their tough claws sunk into the thin metal of the vents and tore it to shreds behind them as Benry forfeited stealth for speed. Gordon couldn’t tell if the bassy ‘ _thump, thump, thump_ ’ was coming from their joined heartbeats or Benry’s frantic footfalls. 

There was shouting below them. “They’re in the vents!”

Gordon’s heart sank and he clung tighter to Benry. They were going to shoot them through the vents. They weren’t gonna make it. The siren wailed on- laughing at them. Benry climbed faster and faster until they lost all human features. It was just a black blur carrying Gordon now. Sweet voice bubbles crowded them further as their stress tried to find any way to escape.

_Grey- not okay. Pink- I can’t think._

It was getting hard to breathe. All around them vent intakes slammed shut and there was soft hissing. They were trying to flush them out with poison. Gordon pressed his face to Benry’s ‘neck’ and held his breath. 

The world became a blur of cold steel and blackness. The red light of the flashing alarms seemed to slow- fading in and out like a buoy bobbing on the water. 

Gordon couldn’t hold his breath any more and gasped for air. There was nothing. 

His vision was getting spotty- 

He didn’t know where his glasses were- 

He pressed his lips to his father’s scrunchie. 

The siren was a dull, faraway whine-

Benry’s back ran against something and they frantically slammed against it. They had no strength, but they had desperation. They didn’t have the air to form words, to call out to Gordon and beg him to stay with them, please, don’t leave them alone- but they had the will to break through. They had to. There was no other choice.

The metal grate whined, deformed, then burst like a bottle cap. Their lungs filled with fresh air- burning cold- as Benry tossed them both onto the sand. Gordon took a deep, gasping breath and coughed. 

Benry pulled away from him, breaking their connection, until they were two separate beings again. They were unable to handle the sensation of suffocation or retching that came from Gordon. It took them a few painful seconds to reconstitute their human form and then they were rushing to Gordon's side. They put an arm around him and heaved him onto his knees so he could vomit into the dirt.

Benry murmured to their friend, trying to offer some comfort when they themself were shaking and scared. Gordon finally felt he was getting enough air, even if his breaths sounded terrible, a few minutes later. He let out a soft, disbelieving laugh.

They’d made it.

“Benry, look up, look up-!”

Benry did so and was almost struck blind. They’d been right when they thought that simple white dots didn’t deserve such pretty names. The real stars looked nothing like the projection that had started all of this. It was like comparing a stick figure to a human. A circle compared to a planet. What was above them deserved those fancy names- fancier names, even- or maybe no names at all. They were too beautiful to speak about. They were struck with the awe of seeing something holy.

Benry would have given all their teeth. Their toenails too. Every inch of skin. Just for this. Black Mesa had _stolen_ this from them. The sky. The entire world. 

They hadn’t even noticed they’d been singing- a low, rumbling note. The bubbles seemed to fizzle from within- colors trapped in black. They couldn’t begin to translate that feeling. Maybe that’s how humans felt too. 

_Colorful Sparks in a void of Black- the world is beautiful, I’m never going back._

Out in the desert, far away from any human settlement, the sky was alive. The flashing red light from the vent and everything else behind them couldn’t even spoil it. The sky looked like it was ripped in two- a million stars of all shapes and colors filling the space between. lIt was like catching a glimpse beyond the veil into somewhere perfect and safe. A path that they could walk on. It was three dimensional in a way Benry hadn’t expected. Could you hold a star?

The matte, perfect darkness that Benry was accustomed to did nothing to prepare them for the night sky. Under the earth, in Black Mesa, there was nothing without artificial lighting. This wasn't nothing, this was everything. It wasn’t black- it was every color, iridescent, like broken glass sewn into velvet.

The moon shone on like the serene gaze of God. Goddess. The universe itself. 

Benry’s pupils expanded until they took up their entire iris. Their entire being lurched forward. Their heart swelled full and it felt like their ribs were yawning open. They wanted to reach out and pull the sky into the gaping hole of their chest, the place where a family would go, and keep it close to them always. They wanted to fly up and up and up until the sky swallowed them whole. They belonged up there. They were an alien, weren’t they?

They could see more than they’d ever dreamed of. A blanket of light beyond the human spectrum wrapped around them and told them they were safe. 

‘ _Come home_ ,’ the stars murmured.

Gordon’s hand was solid in his own. They couldn’t. Their home was wherever Gordon was. Benry squeezed back and let themself be pulled to their feet. Gordon looked around and blinked in the new light. Benry couldn't imagine finding the simple patterns of the star map in all this beautiful chaos. 

“Which way, bossman?” Benry asked.

Gordon didn’t know. He didn’t know which way home was- where his father who taught him about the stars was. The father gave him this scrunchie. The father whose face he couldn’t recall. He didn’t know. He gaped like a fish as the relief from before turned to dread.

“I d-don’t know. I don’t remember.” 

Benry felt the minute trembling in his hand and tugged him closer. “Then don’t remember. Feel. They can’t take your feelings.”

Gordon looked at them in confusion until Benry took their joint hands and raised them. They let go and left Gordon’s hand, the one with his father’s scrunchie, hanging in front of him like a dowsing rod. 

Gordon closed his eyes and tried to- tried to- feel. Where was home? He moved in a slow circle. He knew he could find it. He wanted to go home. He just needed to pick a constellation and follow it. 

“Dad…”

He stopped and opened his eyes when it felt right. He took a deep breath and raised his gaze to the sky.

Ursa major. Ursa minor.

Polaris. 

“That one, we have to follow that star!”

“You got it, bossman!”

Gordon had just taken a few steps forward, past one of the desert stones that rose out of the ground like dragon's teeth, when he was struck. He cried out in pain and fell to the cold sand. 

A soldier stood above him with the butt of his rifle still raised. 

Benry’s blood went cold in their veins. It went cold, and disappeared, as they turned from a human to something else. Something that doesn’t need blood. The world darkened around them. The stars hushed themselves. The soldier's attention was elsewhere. Benry was frozen.

He moved forward, flipping his rifle up to rest against his shoulder. He nudged Gordon with his boot. The boy wheezed- alive- but then went still. Benry could smell hot iron against the coldness of the nighttime desert. The soldier mistook Benry’s stock-still form for that of a child frozen in fear and missed his chance to shoot.

“This is the end of the line, BN-34. Say goodbye to your little friend. You’ll never see him again.”

Benry clenched their fists, shaking with rage, and glared at the dirt. They were so angry they don’t know what to do with it. The stars laughed overhead. The wind stilled. A scorpion scurried over the ground- away from the soldiers stomping feet. The carapace was perfectly visible to Benry’s UV gaze. The world slowed to a torturous grind.

Benry let out a low growl laden with bubbles so heavy with loathing they immediately fell to the ground and popped- soaking the ground with ichor. 

_Dark Blue- I hate you._

The soldier leaned down to pick up Gordon. 

_Blood Red- you’re gonna be-_

Benry moved. A black, starless void. A maw. They hit the soldier in the stomach with the vague slope of a shoulder- it’s hard to tell what it was when their anger made them melt like this. Their form had no form. There’s no use looking non-threatening if the only person whose opinion mattered couldn't see.

They struck the soldier with the force of a truck. The angle was bad and only busted a few ribs, so Benry threw themself on top of Gordon and clung. They gathered him against their chest. They prayed. Aliens aren’t supposed to pray but they did. A constant, directionless stream of please, please, please-

The soldier pointed his gun down at the pair. One was a shivering human child and one was a formless black blanket. One shot would pierce through one and out the other.

A scorpion tail in bright, shining UV blue. Six feet long. Armor like steel. A stinger with the circumference of a quarter buried itself in the soldier’s neck- in one artery and out the opposite end. There was no venom, Benry hadn’t thought of that, but there didn't need to be. Benry pulled it from the soldier’s neck and he bled out between one breath and the next.

Benry kept the blood from pouring onto Gordon with their own body. They dragged him away from the carnage once the gurgles stopped. Their human started to regain his senses as Benry blew Sweet Voice onto him.

_Teal to Green- Healing beam._

“Gordie, Gordie, you have to wake up-!”

“Mmm ‘up,” Gordon murmured, getting his feet under him with a little help from Benry. They continued to coat him in healing beam until they were waved off. “I just have a headache. Let’s go.” 

Benry grabbed Gordon’s arm and hauled him onto their back. Gordon held on tight like a sleepy child being carried to bed. He wound his arms around Benry’s shoulders and pressed his face to their hair. He was still a little loopy.

Benry’s wings stretched out quickly- quicker than they should let them, and it hurt, but there was no time. 

Benry took a step forward and the shifting sand swallowed their foot. Another step and they were almost sent to their knees. The stolen wings of a dead pigeon flapped uselessly against their back. They pressed on.

One more desperate push and they lifted off. 

They flew higher and higher, the wind rose to meet them, and the swell carried their wings upwards. They flew away from Black Mesa until they couldn't see the lights anymore. The desert below was pitch black except for where it reflected the stars above. Benry took in the sight. It felt like being in space.

They still wondered what the sun would look like the next morning.

Gordon laughed in their ear- loud and bright and happy. Benry grinned back at him.

They flew home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I lied when I said it was three chapters. I'm giving you guys an epilogue with two (2) potential aftermaths. 
> 
> I think I caught all the mixed-up tenses but let me know if you find any more. Please comment and tell me your favorite part/line!


	5. Pick a Star and Follow It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Have they earned their happy ending?

The path diverges. These are the choices.

They couldn't make it out of the desert. They flew for days. They hid in rocky alcoves during the day, slept in shifts, and flew again by night. Benry’s wings were strong, but they couldn't hold onto them forever. They crossed less and less ground as time went by. Black Mesa sent more and more men.

They were recaptured. Benry put up as much of a fight as they could but Gordon had no way of defending himself. No weapon, no claws, no venom, no wings. He couldn’t help from being picked up and dragged off. When Gordon was threatened, Benry stood down.

They were brought back and separated. Black Mesa erased Gordon’s memories- again.

They let Benry keep theirs. 

Gordon was put into another wing; less ‘test subjects’ and more ‘orphanage that turns out indentured servants’. He wasn't treated well, but he is wasn't treated badly either. They raise him to be a glorified errand boy. They send him to MIT.

Black Mesa hung Gordon over Benry’s head like a carrot. As long as they complied, Gordon would be treated well. If they didn't comply, well… that’s the stick. One of the company’s more volatile and valuable assets was brought to heel overnight.

Benry was so thoroughly de-fanged that Black Mesa felt secure in having them take on the role of a security guard. Benry made new friends at his job, like Tommy, and learned about video games. Their life isn’t as empty as it used to be.

But there’s still a huge Gordon-shaped hole in it.

When Gordon came back as a scientist, Benry couldn't wait to meet him again. Black Mesa had never told them what they did to Gordon’s memory. Gordon got annoyed when they asked him for a passport as a dumb joke. He didn't poke back when Benry needled him with playful barbs like they used to. Gordon didn't even recognise the Sweet Voice. 

Gordon didn't remember them at all. Once Black Mesa started treating him better, did he put Benry out of his mind? Did Benry mean so little?

Had everything Black Mesa told them been true? That Gordon didn’t visit or write because he didn’t want to? The idea of their best friend hating them hurt more than anything.

Everything went horribly wrong with the Resonance Cascade. Benry was terribly hurt but they still wanted to follow Gordon, still wanted to protect him. They went on an adventure but they didn't grow any closer. Gordon thought they’re annoying. All their jokes fell flat. 

Benry made a choice they’ll regret forever.

They end up accepting the role the game gave to them. They became the final boss. It’s only at the end that they realised that something must have happened to Gordon for him to not remember them at all. They let themselves be defeated. 

Post-game, things are better. They became friends with Gordon again. They got to be part of a relationship with him and Tommy. They even got to see Gordon reunited with his dads. 

Gordon doesn’t need to remember their childhood. They’re just happy to have him now.

Or…

They flew through the night and into the day. If the stars were beautiful, magical, perfect… The sun was something else. A ‘big ball of fire in space’ didn’t even begin to cover it. Benry had no trouble looking directly at the nearest star, not like Gordon did. They almost wanted to keep their eyes on it forever. Unfortunately, their mission required vigilance. 

Benry refused to stop flying. They could still feel the dried blood of the soldier prickling along their back. There would be others. Now that Benry had hurt one of them, there would be no mercy at Black Mesa. Their option was to escape. Anything else was unthinkable.

Sometimes, Gordon had them adjust their direction. He held out his hand in front of them like the scrunchie on his wrist would tell him the way. Benry didn't protest- it had kept them out of danger so far. They stopped only long enough to eat and take care of other needs that required the ground. Benry could stay up for days without sleeping. Gordon slept carried on Benry's back.

When the need for sleep came over them, it came all at once. They’d pushed themselves too far. They’d been flying over towns for a while now. The desert was behind them, but not far enough for Benry’s liking. When their eyes started to close without their consent, the pair had to make an emergency descent or risk fall out of the sky.

The landing onto a stranger’s back lawn wasn't graceful, but it wasn't a crash either. They knocked over a pile of science-y looking gadgets on the way down and made a ruckus. Luckily, neither of the kids were hurt. 

The thought of more scientists put Benry’s teeth on edge as they inspected the pile. Gordon looked calmer. It’s like when he was picking out their directions, on some level he knew this is where they were meant to go. Now he just had to wait for... something. He didn't know what, but they didn't have to wait long. 

There was noise coming from inside the house; some shouting, another crash, and footsteps rushing towards the backyard. The door is thrown open to reveal two men standing in the doorway. One looks livid, but the other freezes when his gaze lands on the two. 

“WHAT THE FU...c...k?” The taller one shouted before tapering off to a normal volume. His gaze had been too high and now it lowered to take in the sight of two children on his back stoop. He was surprised to say the least. 

Benry wrapped their arms around Gordon and flapped their wings nervously. They felt like they would die if they flew again but they wouldn’t let them be taken in now. If they had to fly for another week, they would. They started to draw away even when Gordon held firmly on their arm. 

“Wait!” the other man exclaimed, still loud but more friendly, “Don’t go! It’s alright. You just startled us.”

“...Joshua?” the tall man murmured, too low to be heard and seemingly in a daze.. He leaned heavily against the doorframe as the shorter man approaches the pair.

“You two can stay. You look tired. Why not come inside?”

The two children looked at each other. Gordon’s was already smiling. He leaned closer and murmured something to Benry. The odd-looking child nodded but didn't look happy about it. They rose to their feet and let themselves be ushered into the house.

"What are your names?"

"I'm Gordon and this is Benry.

“Gordon... I'm Dr. Coomer and this is Professor Bubby-"

"Doctor-"

"Professor. How about you tell us what happened to you two?"

Gordon fidgeted. "It's... kinda a long story."

Dr. Coomer smiled. "It's okay, we have time. You're safe here."

Welcome home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! This has been really fun to write. I'm surprised I managed to bang out so many words so quickly. One of the endings is the super sweet candyland ending I had in mind when I began this fic and the other is a more canon compliant ending that could still fit in canon canon or Family of Three canon. 
> 
> Make sure to check out the series this fic was based on if you haven't already!


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